Image stabilization includes many techniques used to reduce blurring associated with motion of a camera during exposure. Image stabilization techniques may compensate for pan and tilt (angular movement) of a camera or other imaging device. With still cameras, camera shake can be problematic at slow shutter speeds or with long focal length (telephoto) lenses, and image stabilization techniques can be used to improve a still picture.
Similarly, video stabilization techniques may be used to improve recorded videos. With video cameras, camera shake can cause visible frame-to-frame jitter in a recorded video. For example, handheld camera or handheld video recording is a film and video technique in which a camera is held in the camera operator's hands, and a handheld recorded video may be perceptibly shakier than a video recorded using a tripod-mounted camera (or other stabilization equipment, such as camera dollies or steady-cams) due to motion of the operator holding the camera during recording. However, recording videos using handheld video recording may enable more opportunities for filming.
Video stabilization techniques may be used to create a stable version of a casually shot video (e.g., a video recorded on a device with little or no stabilization equipment). Video stabilization techniques generally attempt to render the recorded video as the video would have been recorded from a smooth or stable camera path.